PTV Group: The Industry Standard
in Traffic & Transportation Software

Expertise in Mobility Technology

PTV Group is a pioneer in mobility technology with 45+ years of innovation. Founded in 1979 in Karlsruhe as a spin-off of Karlsruhe University of Technology (KIT), we have grown from early trip-planning software to a global provider of transport modeling and traffic management tools, now united with Econolite under the Umovity brand.

Our software powers planning and operations in thousands of cities and municipalities worldwide. We offer the industry’s broadest suite, from PTV Visum (multimodal transport planning) and PTV Vissim (microscopic traffic simulation) to PTV Optima (real-time traffic management), PTV Lines (public transit planning), and PTV Viswalk (pedestrian simulation). Every component interoperates in one unified platform, delivering an end-to-end, integrated solution. 

Users consistently rate our tools highly on platforms like Capterra and G2. For example, PTV Vissim holds a 4.9/5 on Capterra, evidence of the quality, reliability, and innovation our community expects.

Proof of Industry Recognition: Independent Endorsements and Accolades

• A 2023 HDR report calls “PTV Visum software - an industry standard travel demand and transit planning tool” in the context of airport traffic modeling.
• AECOM’s public documentation notes that they utilize Vissim for terminal and roadway capacity analysis.
• International Transport Forum’s renowned “Lisbon Study,” which used PTV Visum to model a futuristic scenario of replacing private cars with shared autonomous vehicles. The result mentioned, the PTV Visum model showed that up to 90% fewer vehicles would be needed to serve all trips in the city, freeing huge amounts of urban space.
• A Kings Research market insight listed PTV Group as the #1 Traffic Simulation Systems Company globally, citing the advanced capabilities of PTV Vissim’s simulation kernel and its applications in emerging mobility trends.
• Leading transportation engineering firms echo this view – one senior traffic engineer notes his team uses “various industry-standard travel demand modeling (PTV Visum) and microsimulation tools including PTV Vissim in daily work.  

Staying Connected with Our Community

We maintain a vibrant global community of users, partners, and academics and we stay in touch through various initiatives and channels:

• Academic Committee: We engage with researchers and professors worldwide through our Academic Committee to discuss the latest modeling trends and research results.
• User Group Meetings: We host regular User Group Meetings around the world where mobility professionals share insights from real-world city projects and connect directly with our experts.
• User Feedback & Testing: We constantly seek user feedback through surveys and friendly user tests, embracing a “You share your needs, we make them happen” philosophy.
• LinkedIn Community Forums: Our community also thrives on LinkedIn forums for PTV Vissim, PTV Visum, and PTV Vistro to exchange ideas and support each other within an international network of mobility experts.

Research projects and publications that used our products:

• Autonomous Mobility: Sarwar, S., & Saurí, S. (2025) used PTV-based simulation to evaluate how shared autonomous vehicles could alleviate congestion in public transport systems, published in the International Conference on Transportation and Development.
• Virtual Models for Autonomous Driving Systems: Erdagi, I. G., Gavric, S., & Stevanovic, A. (2025) developed a multimodal physical and virtual simulation framework using PTV tools to support advanced traffic scenarios, as detailed in Applied Sciences.
• Pedestrian & Environment: Nieto, R. C., Cansaya, A. C. L., & Lizano, A. R. B. (2025) applied PTV-based modeling to analyze bus stop congestion caused by passenger interactions, aiming to reduce delays, presented at the International Conference on Civil Structural and Transportation Engineering.

Partners, Certifications & Industry Affiliations

• International Transport Forum (OECD): Member of the ITF Corporate Partnership Board since 2014, collaborating on global transport policy.
• Transportation Research Board (TRB), Washington, D.C. – Regular exhibitor and contributor at the TRB Annual Meeting, where we (as part of Umovity) showcase our latest advances in traffic simulation, real-time data analysis, and mobility planning. In 2025, we also announced a strategic collaboration with Dynamic Map Platform at TRB, underlining its role at the forefront of automotive and traffic simulation innovation.
• ISO 27001:2022 Certified: Internationally certified for information security management, your data and models are in trustworthy hands.
• Industry Associations: We are engaged with leading organizations like ERTICO – ITS Europe, regional ITS America chapters, and standardization bodies. We contribute to developing best practices and open standards in transportation planning and simulation.
• International Road Federation (IRF) – We partner with the IRF, aligning with its mission to unite public and private sectors in advancing safer, sustainable road mobility through innovation and knowledge exchange.
• FIA Partnership – Collaborated with the FIA at the Rome E-Prix to co-drive an innovation initiative, showcasing and advising on future-ready urban mobility solutions during the event.

Awards

Since 2016, PTV Transport Consult GmbH (a PTV Group affiliated company) has been consistently ranked by Brand Eins Wissen and Statista as one of Germany’s top management consultancies in transportation, traffic, and logistics.